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Eastern tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) living on desolate islands off mainland Australia have longer jaws than the mainland populations of snakes - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 5 - 2007 - Paper 1
Question 5
Eastern tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) living on desolate islands off mainland Australia have longer jaws than the mainland populations of snakes. The diet of isla... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Eastern tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) living on desolate islands off mainland Australia have longer jaws than the mainland populations of snakes - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 5 - 2007 - Paper 1
Step 1
What were the researchers investigating in these experiments?
Answer
The researchers were investigating the effects of diet on the jaw length of eastern tiger snakes from island and mainland populations. They aimed to determine whether the type and size of prey had an impact on the size of the snakes' jaws at maturity.
Step 2
Step 3
What evidence from the results suggests that the size of eastern tiger snakes’ jaws is
Answer
a. a genetically inherited trait The data from mainland snakes (groups C and D) showed that they had normal jaw lengths at maturity, indicating that jaw size is genetically determined as these groups were not influenced by differing diets.
b. affected by environmental factors Island snakes (groups A and B) had increased jaw length in size when larger prey was consumed, suggesting that environmental factors, particularly diet, can influence physical traits such as jaw length.